Heretics 1000 Years Apart If a person is a heretic does it mean the person’s idea is indeed wrong? Galileo was ridiculed and persecuted by the church because of his observations and teaching. Later the church did come to accept his ideology but it was years after Galileo’s death. Tertullian wrote a letter on the “Proscription Of Heretics” talks about heresy and “Galileo’s Indictment and Abjuration” states the reasons why Galileo was a heretic. The documents are about 1000 years apart but the views have some similarities but also some differences. Tertullian and the church both agreed on how to deal with heresy and heretics. Tertullian had presented an idea that the church later used either knowing it or not when indicting Galileo.
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On one hand you have Tertullian who stated “For (philosophy) it is which is the material of the world's wisdom, the rash interpreter of the nature and the dispensation of God. Indeed heresies are themselves instigated by philosophy.” On the other hand the Cardinals actually use philosophy as a tool against Galileo in which they reference it without explaining why. The state “The proposition that the earth is not the center of the world, nor immovable, but that it moves, and also with a diurnal action, is also absurd, philosophically false, and, theologically considered, at least erroneous in faith.” They do not explain why philosophically the earth was in fact the center of the universe and the sun moved. When comparing the two, one condemns philosophy and calls it a heresy, while the other tries to use it to combat heresy. Tertullian even said, “Pagan philosophy is the parent of heresies.” In this case the two documents contradict each other in their views of Philosophy and how it plays into …show more content…
Due to one document coming before the other, it can be inferred that one document had been influenced in some way by the other. Both authors would agree that Galileo was a heretic based on both party’s explanation of what a heretic is. The answer to the question “If a person is a heretic does it means the person’s idea is indeed wrong” is simple and should have been clear from the start especially with the example of Galileo. A heretic is someone who goes against church doctrine but that does not mean church doctrine is always right. Galileo is a good example of a heretic who was said to be wrong but in the end was
On one hand you have Tertullian who stated “For (philosophy) it is which is the material of the world's wisdom, the rash interpreter of the nature and the dispensation of God. Indeed heresies are themselves instigated by philosophy.” On the other hand the Cardinals actually use philosophy as a tool against Galileo in which they reference it without explaining why. The state “The proposition that the earth is not the center of the world, nor immovable, but that it moves, and also with a diurnal action, is also absurd, philosophically false, and, theologically considered, at least erroneous in faith.” They do not explain why philosophically the earth was in fact the center of the universe and the sun moved. When comparing the two, one condemns philosophy and calls it a heresy, while the other tries to use it to combat heresy. Tertullian even said, “Pagan philosophy is the parent of heresies.” In this case the two documents contradict each other in their views of Philosophy and how it plays into …show more content…
Due to one document coming before the other, it can be inferred that one document had been influenced in some way by the other. Both authors would agree that Galileo was a heretic based on both party’s explanation of what a heretic is. The answer to the question “If a person is a heretic does it means the person’s idea is indeed wrong” is simple and should have been clear from the start especially with the example of Galileo. A heretic is someone who goes against church doctrine but that does not mean church doctrine is always right. Galileo is a good example of a heretic who was said to be wrong but in the end was